Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2022)

Timely intensive casework and peer support have been con­tinuously provided by our team of volunteers since the inception of the Centre in 2018. When the pandemic hit and Melbourne was placed in long periods of lockdowns, we partnered with community organisations, Migante Melbourne and Anakbayan in delivering food packages and other essential items to international students and temporary visa holders who had lost their jobs and were excluded from government support. We also organised free online consultations on visa policies and training on psychosocial first aid, which we continue to provide to this day. 

During the pandemic, we also secured a small grant from the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) on two specific projects namely: National Migrant Women Encounter and Civil society Organisation Development and Engagement. With these two projects, we organised several forums on the needs and challenges faced by migrant women and migrant workers and provided capacity-building sessions for volunteers supporting these groups.